


Airplane Mode

by atsushinakajima



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Ann/Akira is a background ship, Break Up, I actually cried writing this, M/M, gore?, shadow mishima with a palace, vent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-27 19:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15692220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atsushinakajima/pseuds/atsushinakajima
Summary: There were good times, and there were bad times. Now the bad times for Mishima are forever. And Akira is forever better.





	1. It's Playing Tricks, I Say I'm Fine

Akira wanted to talk.

Mishima hated when Akira said that he wanted to talk.

But he knew he just couldn’t avoid it. Even if it was their one year.

He sat in his house, waiting for Akira to let himself in. He was used to it. He longed for the comfort, but they had grown distant from each other.

Akira came in a bit later, sitting on the couch across from Mishima. 

The tension in the room was unbearable. 

“Mishima, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They sat in silence for awhile.

“I… I don’t think we can do this.”

Mishima’s heart sank.

“I found someone new. We… Kissed last night. I love her.”

Mishima wanted to start crying, but he nodded. “Is it Ann?” He asked, knowing his closeness with the girl. 

“Yeah. I’m sorry Mishima.”

“It’s alright.” He wanted to scream. He gripped his knees, taking deep breaths.

“Akira, if you weren’t happy, why didn’t you  _ just tell me _ !” His voice cracked as he raised his voice, eyes widening at what he had just said. “I was so happy with you, you can’t just do this so suddenly!” He held back from making a comment about killing himself. He didn’t want to force a relationship like that.

“Mishima, I’m sorry. I care about you so much, I just don’t think we’re good for each other. You love me more than I love you. You’re a good person. You deserve someone who loves you.” Mishima heard Akira sniffle, but he was convinced it was fake.

“Akira… I want to be with you… Please don’t do this.” He spoke softly, watching Akira get up.

And then he just left.

 

* * *

 

Weeks later, Mishima was still heartbroken. He barely showed up to class, just scared of seeing Akira again. He stopped managing the Phansite so actively. He just wanted to feel better.

But the snapchats of Akira and Ann to their stories hurt him. He felt sick and gross. Their displays of affection killed him. 

Why couldn’t he just be happy again? Why couldn’t he just be with Akira? Why couldn’t everything go back to the way it was?

 

* * *

 

First it was Akechi.

They rushed into a relationship, clearly trying to reach some form of affection. They were both lonely, lonely people. His kisses, his touch, they made him happy. Akechi was harsh though. Sure, they were teens, but they were horny. Akechi almost demanded sex from Mishima, and Mishima always obliged. But the sex was harsh. Akechi tugged on Mishima’s hair, and fucked him until he begged to stop. It was to the point of tears. 

Despite this, Mishima backed out. They could be friends with benefits, right?

_ ’ _

* * *

 

Then it was Iwai. 

They were odd, they weren’t really sexual, just barely romantic. The age gap weirded them out, so they slowly drifted apart. And because of Iwai’s closeness to Akira, he felt bad about them being together.

 

* * *

 

That was that. Akira was happy, and he’d never be happy. He slowly drifted away from the Phantom Thieves, and the website stopped updating. His heart hurt.

But he still worked up the courage to text Akira.

‘ _ i still care about you. i want to have the connection we once had. _ ’ He felt himself get choked up, but continued. His phone buzzed.

‘ _ I care about you too. I just don’t think we can have that connection again. I’ve changed so much. _ ’

Mishima’s heart tightened.

‘ _ i;m sorry i loved you too much. i’m sorry for relying on you for everything. _ ’   
Another buzz.

‘ _ You need to grow and change as a person. You have hope, Mishima. _ ’

‘ _ i’m crying. i honestly want you back. _ ’

Buzz.

‘ _ That’s not going to happen. I care about you, but you need to find someone new. _ ’

Mishima shut off his phone, and started to sob.


	2. But Really, It's Hurting Me Deep Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira notices something wrong. He's very right about this fact.

Months passed, and Akira could tell there was something wrong.

The Phansite wasn’t constantly spammed with hate anymore, but there were still harsh messages left occasionally.

Usually those were deleted. But not now.

“You know, Akira, you’ve been staring at the site for a while now.” Ann spoke, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” He muttered, shutting his eyes. He felt… Guilty? Maybe it was because of leaving Mishima so suddenly. Maybe it was because there was a weird tension in the few messages of sending homework to the kid who was never at school anymore.

He opened the Metaverse Navigator, taking a deep breath.

“Mishima Yuuki.”

The phone pinged in response, showing Mishima’s name at the top of the screen.

Ryuuji, who had begrudgingly hung out with the couple on this day, mostly groaning at the public affection Ann and Akira were showing, lifted his head up from off the table.

“Woah, you’re kidding, right?” He asked, clearly shocked at the revelation. “I never thought that soft of a kid would have a palace.” 

Ann stared at Akira, blinking rapidly. “Wasn’t he really clingy and kinda… Annoying? I mean, I’m down for it.” Ann usually wanted to be kind, but the stories she knew didn’t really give her a positive opinion on Mishima. He had told Shiho to go to Kamoshida. His relationship with Akira made her boyfriend more withdrawn. 

“Yes.”

Akira stared at his phone, trying to come up with ideas of what his palace could be. But the meow of Morgana could be heard.

“Isn’t he unstable? You know, we’ve always dealt with people who were sure of their place. Like that Kamoshida guy; he knew he was a king. But I don’t think it’s safe to-”

“Shrine.” The phone didn’t bing in response to Akira cutting off Morgana, and the cat was annoyed. “Hey, Joker! I’m trying to say it isn’t safe!” But he was being ignored. 

“Theater.” No noise.

“Red carpet.” Nothing.

“Oh, maybe somethin’ like a… I forgot the word.” Ryuuji seemed defeated, placing his head back down.

“Church!” Ann spoke up, remembering the way Akira told her that Mishima seemed to worship him. 

The phone chimed. Mishima really had those feelings still? Akira’s heart clenched. He just had to figure out what the hell Mishima saw as his church.

Morgana was clearly peeved, wiggling out of Akira’s bag and onto the picnic table the three sat at. “You don’t have the rest of the thieves anyway! You’re not doing that alone.” He hissed, sitting down with his tail flicking. 

Akira nodded, closing the navigator to text the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

 

* * *

 

“You know, if Morgana’s right, this palace may just collapse on its own.” Yusuke’s soft but strong voice rang out as he walked up to their normal meeting place. He was careful not to speak too loudly, as he wasn’t directly next to them. 

“See, that’s what I’ve been trying to say!” Morgana chimed, sticking his head out of Akira’s bag. Akira just wasn’t listening. He was thinking this over, his head stuck in the past. But he had moved on. He knew he shouldn’t, but it was never bad to reflect. That’s when it struck him, but he got pulled out of his thoughts by Makoto starting to speak.

“I’ve never thought of our school as that corrupt… First Kamoshida… Now Mishima…” She murmured, resting her chin on her fist.

Once Makoto finished, Akira got everyone’s attention by speaking.

“Akira Kurusu’s room.” The phone confirmed the target.

“Whoa, really?” Ann spoke up, entwining her fingers with Akira’s and looking at the phone. “That’s… Sad. And creepy…?” She wanted to feel pity for Mishima, but it was hard to.

 

* * *

 

After the world finished warping around them, a large cathedral slowly started to form in front of the thieves. But it seemed to waver between being in great shape to being almost desolate and destroyed. The archways, which were marbled and amazing, seemed to crack and break, even though seconds later they appeared to be in perfect shape. 

As Akira led them in, he turned back to notice something.

Ryuuji wasn’t in his phantom thief clothing, but he had his mask. Akira stopped to stare, and slowly did the rest of them.

“Skull, do you have something that would make… Mishima not see you as a threat?” Yusuke spoke, touching his friend’s shoulder. 

“We’re kinda buddy-buddy? We were there for eachother an’ shit.” He commented, shrugging. “Let’s just go on, maybe we can just talk it out with him or somethin’.” Ryuuji slowly started to walk ahead, and Akira just watched. “Let’s go.” He commanded, walking a bit faster to catch up with Ryuuji. 

Carved into the marble walls were bowls, and they had a black, almost sludge-like substance in them. Akira looked up, noticing a pinboard with shaky and panicked love notes tacked onto it, some distorted with tears and some with blood drops on them.

Further in, the large hallway opened up to an even bigger room. There were golden colored pews lining the room, and down the middle was a long carpet. At the end, there was the altar, and above the altar was the crucifix of what would normally be Jesus, but it was Akira instead.

A pain shot through his heart as he realized there was someone at the altar, crying and praying. There were no words, just pained sobs.

Akira dashed forward, pointing his pistol at the figure. 

“Joker!” Ryuuji almost shouted, running up behind him as the the figure lifted it’s head from the altar.

Glowing yellow eyes were the first thing Akira noticed, and then he fell to his knees. He felt weak, but Ryuuji was gasping for air and kneeling too. As he tilted his head up, Akira noticed the surprised and scared expression turned violently angry.

An ear splitting screech filled the room as Ryuuji’s thief outfit slowly started to materialize onto him.

_ “You’re in my way!” _ The figure, dressed like a priest or pastor, formed his hands into balls. The scream caused the church to become distorted and broken once more, but this time, it lasted for a while. 

Akira took a moment to study the figure, and it wasn’t just a shadow. It was Mishima. And after he screamed, red started running down from his eyes. He almost looked holy, if it weren’t for the fact that Akira knew he had a corrupt heart. 

Doors flung open, and black raven-like creatures flew out, surrounding Mishima. Akira wanted to reach out and help, but he held back. This wasn’t the time.

The creatures flew back into the doors, and Mishima was gone. A crack could be heard from above, as some marble chippings fell down. He looked up, noticing the large crack in the tall ceiling. The only trace that Mishima was ever standing at the altar was the same black tar in the bowls near the front. 

Maybe Akira was doing something wrong.

 

* * *

 

As they finally reached the highest room of the cathedral, Akira stopped by the doorway to hear the sobbing start again. He wasn’t even sure if there was a treasure in this place, being the fact it wasn’t behind anything or blocked at all. It was oddly easy to get here, despite how weak he felt earlier. 

Akira motioned to the thieves, getting them to huddle up. “The goal is to do this peacefully, we won’t fight unless we need to.” They nodded, and Akira slowly started to sneak into the room.

Once he got to the almost lavish couch that Mishima sat on, he turned to watch the rest of his party sneak in with him. Once they were all approaching, Akira rested his hand on the crying shadow’s shoulder, and it looked up. The sad and pained expression stayed.

“My savior… He doesn’t care anymore…” Akira felt the room distort around him, and he registered it as  _ his room. _ It was no longer a breaking church, it was just Mishima trying to seek the comfort of Akira once more. 

“He… He hates me.” He cried out, and his fists clenched as one rose.

And a punch was landed square in Akira’s face, knocking him back.  _ “And I hate him!” _

Mishima’s body started to break up, and the sound of cracking bones and joints popping filled the room.

His limbs detached themselves, and he was decapitated and bisected by an unknown force, but was reformed as back roses sprouted from his wounds, making him seem grotesquely long with their thorny stems. Before he could speak, the same roses poured out of his mouth. He shot his arms in front of himself, the thorns almost entangling Akira before he was able to jump back. 

The creature wasn’t speaking, and he doubted that it could. A silent fight, huh? Him and his friends were quick to jump into action, trying to figure out the weak points of the abomination. 

Ryuuji landed his pipe into the thorns, and the monster let out a pained wail. Akira wouldn’t have guessed that something so easy to hit would be the target they needed to aim for. Switching from his dagger to the pistol, he watched as the corrupted Mishima let Ryuuji take out his weapon with a harsh tug. Taking the opening, he shot twice as Ryuuji slid under the arm to dodge Akira’s bullets. 

It groaned, but not before whipping its hands around to entangle Akira in the thorns. He bit his lip as they dug past his outfit and into his skin. But it didn’t seem to want to hurt anyone, as it slowly unwound its arm from Akira, it was just giving a warning. 

The silent battle waged on for a while longer, and it was easily in the Phantom Thieves favor. The room seemed to start crumbling before the treasure was even touched, and it honestly made the thieves worry. But they pressed on, watching as the thorny stems grew weaker, before suddenly shooting back into Mishima’s body.

He was reformed once more, and the priest clothing he wore slowly fixed itself. Panting and crying came from Mishima, and Akira’s heart wrenched. Did he really do the right thing? He could hear the the rest of his friends come up behind, Yusuke, Makoto, Ann, Morgana, and Ryuuji looking over the pained boy. He seemed so vulnerable, so weak.

“Kill me.” Mishima’s voice was strained, and Akira’s eyes widened. Morgana was quick to hop up, grimacing. “He… Actually looks like he might not survive. This might cause a shutdown.”

_ A shutdown? _ Akira dropped to his knees. “Mishima… I never wanted to hurt you like this…” He spoke softly, his hands shaking. He didn’t want to touch him, afraid he might break. “I still care…”

Mishima’s eyes became dull, but still glowed yellow. He stopped moving, and Akira let himself touch Mishima, but only to close his eyes.

“Let’s get the treasure.” He commanded, and the thieves started looking at him like he was crazy. “Are you for real, Joker?” 

“Yes.” He stood up, looking around for the glowing object. It wasn’t obvious at first, but there was a cross necklace that Mishima had been wearing. He leaned down, fishing it from around his neck. A rumbling filled the room, and he shot up.

“Let’s go!”


End file.
